The Science of Enlightenment
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Demystify mysticism and learn techniques to move yourself beyond emotional and intellectual blocks into a realm of clear insight and inner peace. In this complete curriculum for self-investigation Shinzen Young – one of America’s foremost meditation teachers – covers traditional teachings, scientific insights, and practical instruction to show you exactly how enlightenment works, and how to begin your own journey to inner liberation. Topics include concentration, awareness, and merging techniques to explore the self and the world around you, how spiritual practices work in Buddhism, Christianity, Jewish mysticism, Sufism, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other mystical traditions, as well as 6 complete guided meditation sessions and a host of insights on how to choose and establish your own meditation practice.
Charmello –
A Game Changer
Shinzen Young is a rarity among meditation teachers. He is educated as a scholar in Buddhist studies and Asian languages. He lived as a Shingon monk in Japan, a branch of the Vajrayana school (a distant relative of Tibetan Buddhism), and has trained extensively in Zen and Theravadan Vipassana. Combine this with his studies of worldwide meditative traditions and you get a teacher with an extraordinary breadth and depth of experience and training, and decades of teaching experience. Shinzen is very articulate at describing meditation and spiritual practice with exceptional clarity. I have read many books by well-known teachers and I have attended several retreats. Yet, there were a few facets that were vague to me, but I didn’t even realize it until Shinzen clarified it.For example, “clear knowing” is a fundamental aspect of vipassana meditation. However, I understood what this meant much better after Shinzen explaining it as meaning a finer grained resolution of experience (e.g. the tiny microsensations that make up any larger bodily sensation), as well as discriminating clearly between the components of experience (seeing, hearing, feeling, mental talk, mental image, etc.). Concentration serves as an awareness-extending tool in the same way a microscope allows a biologist to see what was not apparent to the naked eye. Maybe his most famous formulation is Suffering = Pain x Resistance, where “pain” can be any form of distressing experience (sensations, emotion, or thoughts). Equanimity, then is non-resistance to these experiences. So, as we reduce our resistance, the pain may remain the same, but suffering is progressively reduced. These are classic concepts in meditative traditions, but here they are seamlessly integrated and placed in the broader context.Shinzen further describes more subtle aspects of meditation practice and how these progress toward Enlightenment. Enlightenment is not a magical, mythological fiction, but in fact a real phenomenon, a shift in consciousness that happens to regular people who do sufficient and strategic practice, which greatly enhances a person’s resilience, joy, wisdom, and compassion, magnifying their quality of life. Here is where the “science” part of the title really comes in. Shinzen is fascinated by the sciences and has a proficient understanding of them. He sees “spiritual” practice and science as two parallel but complementary human developments, where each can inform the other and collaborate. Ultimately the collaboration between these two endeavors may make enlightenment more accessible to a greater number of people, possibly changing the course of humanity for the better.Much of the content of this book was released from his audio CD series, also called The Science of Enlightenment, which radically changed my understanding and practice. This text version is not a mere transcription of that series, however. It is updated with a lot of newer material.
Don Quixote –
great book by one of the great meditation teachers
This book presents a crystal clear description of what meditation is, what different stages of meditative experience look like and why it is a worthy endeavor, among a number of other interesting topics. The author of the book is a renowned meditation and mindfulness teacher, perhaps one of the best teachers alive today. Shinzen Young not only has a first hand experience in eastern techniques of self cultivation and liberation, he is also well versed in the western scientific paradigm and he writes with clarity and logic of a professional scientist. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in meditation practice, or in development of human potential in general.
Lee Jensen –
Rational Buddhism
I have enjoyed “The Science of Enlightenment” audio set and found it very helpful; I’ve listened to it several times. This book is a derrivative of those recordings – often-times a direct trascript of them. In that audio set and in this book that is derived from it, Shinzen Young demystifies the process of awakening within both Buddhist and psychological contexts. It isn’t really science, but his approach is reasonably objective and, at least, attempts to deal with the subject rationally. It isn’t mired in secrecy or dogmatic doctrine. Instead, Shinzen has developed some very helpful concepts and methods to help students understand what other teachers often leave cloaked in mysticism. In this regard, I found how he addresses the “intermediate realm” and the path to Source particulary helpful. Practices, such as “Note Gone,” are also very useful.My only disappointment was that, though ten years or so separate the audio set and this book, there is little new material. Still, this material is highly recommended in either format. It’s good stuff and Shinzen is a very good teacher.
Erik Eierud –
A deep reference to meditation and happiness!
A generous reference of what Shinzen has been teaching for several decades. Thirty minutes into the book I was thinking it was a waste to read this as I have heard it all before the fifteen years I followed him. However, after finishing the book, I see it encompasses all the things he has emphasized in a neat package, including short descriptions of his favorite secular meditation techniques. Also his book balances both the contents across the pages and importance of the different meditation aspects, making me realize that I may have over and under emphasized parts of his teachings. As a sceptic, I have always appreciated to check out Shinzen’s scientific and historical claims often originating in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese or Japanese, which are languages he has known for many decades. Instead of hearing his words I can now get the correct spelling right away and enter into Google! I remember more than a decade ago, spending hours checking his claims about shunya, which was the first word for zero in its original country India. Before the numerical meaning of shunya it had the meaning of empty (within Buddhism), which Shinzen stresses more than other historians. After checking many other things he talks about I have found him both careful and accurate. Knowing how skilled Shinzen is, it has surprised me many times why he doesn’t use his skills to make tons of money in many other ways (than to teach meditation). Knowing this has added to my admiration for Shinzen and his message, making me think that he is really happy forwarding the contents within this book, as if his happiness actually is the same as the central pillar of his book, he aims to convey.
Liliya Toskova –
I read it twice. I am gonna read 3rd time.
Mark –
Excellent condition. As described
anonymous –
Read it..don’t think..just read it…stop thinking and read it…If you want the reason and solution to calm the mind. The why and how of meditation..read it now..
Amazon Customer –
To anyone interested in the contemplative path in serious ways. This is the book that will give structure to what you have experienced and known about it before. It is an absolute recommendation to go deeper in the topic of meditation and the spiritual area of our lives.
Amazon Customer –
Shinzen is concise, engaging, and inspirational. He paints a detailed picture of how meditation can deeply enrich and profoundly change your life in a way that leaves you certain that this is an attainable and worthwhile goal. He shows how meditation is a global phenomenon that has been a core human experience that dates way back and how the mystical enlightenment experience is the unifying principle of the great world religions. Reading this book has inspired me; I have my road map and know where I am going.